@鞍钢郭明义: In Zhongnanhai. I’ve met Secretary-General Xi! Amiable, natural. Shaking those two warm hands, looking at his warm, sunshiny, smiling face, I felt happiness, I felt warmth. He said to me with a smile like a loving father, “I’m familiar with your work clothes. There are winter and summer suits, right? It’s getting cold. You should wear a little more. Have you been well?” Having met Secretary-General Xi, having met the central leader, I and people all around China are full of confidence in him and the Party Central Committee.

Guo is about 54, while Xi is 60. The irony of the age gap was not lost on Weibo users:

@tom3815: I heard Guo Mingyi is also over 50. The Leader must be happy to be a daddy…

据说郭明义今年也50多了，元首这是喜当爹啊……

Other netizens chimed in to mock Guo:

@阿晓得啦: I always thought that only General Kim Jong-il had the smile of a loving father.

从前我以为只有金正日将军才有慈父般的笑容。

@网易新闻客户端: So-called “backbone” means that having two bones hurt your attacker when you’re attacked. “Being opportunistic” means that when the time is right, you sell the titles of father and mother, regardless of the buyer’s age. So-called “treason” means singing a song, starting a website, and shouting out loud the slogans of “loving the country and the people.” Yet without support or the people’s money, no one would do any of this.

@小天童邪: I think Guo Mingyi is the image of a modern Lei Feng that the Party wants to portray, but he has become the laughingstock of the Party instead. People nowadays are not as easy to fool as people of the Lei Feng era. A truly good person does not need deliberately flatter and model.

@牛德洛: Guo Mingyi has actively donated blood for over 20 years. More than 60,000 ml! More than 3000 ml per year on average! 250 ml per month! He sure is busy donating blood!

@郭明义：20多年来，他积极参加无偿献血，累计无偿献血6万多毫升！一年平均3000多毫升！每月250毫升，就忙着献血了！

@太史公春秋: Jia Zhangke: They’ve all gone–if you have enough capital, or if you are confident in your skills, then emigrating is really a good choice. Once you’ve left this piece of land, you don’t have to “love the country” anymore. You’ll see much of disgusting news, because no matter how much more disgusting the foreigners may be, you probably won’t care.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/10/netizen-voices-living-lei-feng-fauns-xi/feed/0Censorship Vault: Two Sessions Public Opinion Guidancehttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/10/censorship-vault-two-sessions-public-opinion-guidance/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/10/censorship-vault-two-sessions-public-opinion-guidance/#commentsThu, 24 Oct 2013 15:12:46 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=164415Censorship Vault features previously untranslated censorship instructions from the archives of the CDT series Directives from the Ministry of Truth (真理部指令).

Central Propaganda Department: During the Two Sessions, do not investigate or report on any sudden incidents; do not hype the Wang Lijun incident; do not question medical reform, the low-income housing, food safety, etc. Keep a reliable grasp on the case of the disfigurement of a young woman in Anhui; the case of a policeman in Henan whose stomach was cut open; the case of Baoding City, Hebei; and the case of Wuying, Zhejiang; do not report on individual cases of petitioning; strengthen Lei Feng propaganda. (March 3, 2012)

Chinese police have detained two Internet users for allegedly starting online rumors that tried to defame government groups and a cultural icon in the nation.

30-year-old Qin Zhihui and 40-year-old Yang Xiuyu both worked at a company “that deliberately fabricated rumors over the Internet,” China’s Ministry of Public Security said in a posting on Wednesday. The rumors were created as a way to drum up a greater online following and “illegally obtain benefits” for the two, the ministry added, without elaborating.

Both Qin and Yang have accounts listed on China’s Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like service with over 500 million users in the country. The two were arrested for allegedly posting comments defaming Lei Feng, a former soldier in China’s People’s Liberation Army, who has figured in propaganda campaigns in the country since his death in 1962. [Source]

The users, who went by ‘Qin Huohuo’ and ‘Lima chai’er’ online, appear to have inspired an official response to their online endeavors when they mocked Lei Feng the Chinese propaganda hero who’s probably mostly made-up but still revered in China, at least by the government. Then, when investigating the men behind the online monikers, police discovered that their online promotions company was allegedly profiting illegally.

[…]To be frank, these guys sound like scumbags. But it’s hard not to wonder at the irony of Beijing accusing people of fabricating rumors about Lei Feng, a man whose life story is full of half-truths, exaggerations, and full-on fabrications perpetrated by — you guessed it — the same government that’s now arresting these Weibo users. If untrue online rumors about Lei Feng are harmful (and I agree that they are) shouldn’t the police also be investigating the people in the propaganda department? [Source]

Liu Yang, a Shanghai-based game developer said the games with the most propaganda embedded in them had been the least successful. “The problem is that the propaganda related themes are not intrinsically popular with players and tends to push them away.

“The public today have their own judgment and criteria, and most of them do not like this sort of propaganda stuff,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prof Nie found that the Chinese players in Resistance War Online often spent more time squabbling with each other than fighting the Japanese.

“The players are easily distracted from the patriotic nature of the game and have, instead, turned the games into feuds among the Chinese resistance forces. Ironically, the internal feuds are actually closer to the historical reality than the notion of a perfectly united resistance against the Japanese”.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/01/gamers-fight-corrupt-officials-learn-from-lei-feng/feed/0Censorship Vault: Spring Festival Text Message Contest and Morehttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault/#commentsMon, 17 Dec 2012 20:42:26 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=148456In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the “Beijing Internet Instructions” series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State Council Internet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source.

All websites: Please open a “dropped text message display section” on the special subject page of the event. Requirements for the wording are as follows:

Dropped text message display section (you can continue to recommend the dropped text messages for participation in the selection, if dropped text message recommendation numbers are within those of the 20 highest scores of that day, and they are passed by the evaluation committee, the dropped text messages may be revived!! List them again!!!)

All websites: Concerning the article “Heretical Forces in Western Rural Areas Expanding Rapidly” in the news weekly Observer, all websites are required to delete this immediately.

7 February 2007, 15:00:20

All websites: Delete the article “Mainland Begins to Remove Ban–Netizens May Access Two Taiwan News Web Sites.” Forums and other interactive segments may also not discuss this.

7 February 2007, 19:33:39

Listed text messages of 7 February

Number – Text message content

021: The golden pig brings happiness and auspiciousness, the Olympic mascots come to help: Beibei brings you a warehouse full of grain, Jinjing brings you a family to fill the hall, Huanhuan brings you things as you wish them, Yingying brings you health, Nini brings you happiness and long life. A happy New Spring, and limitless good luck!

031: We wish you in this new magnificent year: for people to become rich and understand the road, for money to come and welcome the Spring, for luck to be as high as waves in the East Sea, life longer than the southern mountains, money to drop in like the autumn rain, cash to gather like a torrent, every day to be a song of triumph, and a celebration everywhere every day. [Translator’s note: this message is full of untranslatable puns on Chinese celebrities’ names).

040: Friends are the heaven, friends are the earth, with friends, we can be of indomitable spirit; friends are the wind, friends are the rain, with friends, we can control the forces of nature; treasure is not an eternal friend, but friends truly are an eternal treasure.

036: Happy new Spring! For concrete content, see other text messages…

002: I gather the sunlight of Mount Everest, the cool breezes separated worlds apart, the wishes of the Trans Himalaya, and the luck in making money of Bill Gates, and make it into a present for you, deepest wishes of happiness for the Spring Festival, may your wishes become true, and everything as you want it!

037: The curtain of night has many stars that are clear and enchanting, the great star as the sound of waves that is clear and profound, the winter season as snow flowers that are felt with romance, to have you among my friends makes me feel deep happiness! I send the happiest wishes to you, happy new year!

029: My head is shaking, everywhere on the road; my ears are waving, the sunlight is very bright, my buttocks are clamping, happiness is everywhere, my tail is wagging, I’m happy and laughing; the golden pig is oinking, its step clatters on; the fireworks are dazzling, the bell sound clangs. A happy New Year’s Eve!

038: When you’re tired, go to sleep, when you wake up, smile! Whatever flavor life is, add spice yourself; when you receive my message, rejoice and smile! Happy New Spring!

005: Peace is happiness, gentleness brings happiness, tranquility is having happiness, plain sailing collects happiness, simplicity shows happiness, even steps raise happiness, the ordinary displays happiness, balance is full of happiness, the calm protects happiness, be happy all your life, I wish you happiness every day!

027: Health is the best present, contentment is the greatest wealth, trust is the best virtue, concern is the most sincere wish, empathy is the most selfless thought, wishing happiness is the finest word. Have a happy new year! Be safe, sound, and happy!

034: I send a wild pig for 2007, for express delivery of new year’s wishes; I send a fragrant pig for 2007, to gather happiness and cheer; I send a little pig for 2007, to scatter joy and pray for blessing; I send a golden pig for 2007, to wish you all happiness for the Year of the Pig!

007: A meeting is a melodious song, acquaintance is a glass of fragrant wine, getting along is a wild goose flying south, being great friends is a vine with ancient roots, when I’m calm, I’ll always calmly wish that happiness and joy follow you in a honey-sweet life. Happy feelings in the New Year!

028: Spring festival comes, New Year wishes come early: first, I wish you whole house well; second, I wish for few difficulties; third, I wish that worries disappear; fourth, I with you do not grow old; fifth, I wish your children obey; sixth, I wish happiness surrounds you; seventh, I wish your sadness goes away; eighth, I wish your income rises; ninth, I wish you are safe and sound, tenth, I wish you are happy and at ease.

033: I’ve never been a thief, but I’d like to steal some happiness to give to you! I’ve never cheated on anyone, but I’d like to swindle some happiness to give to you! I’ve never harmed anyone, but I’d like to abduct a happy heart to give to you! I’ve never blamed anyone, but I’d like to snatch some safety to give to you! I wish you a joyful festival and happiness for the New Spring!

001: Mountain ranges can separate, the heaven is high and the land stretches far, but my deep longing cannot be blocked; longitude and latitude can draw out distance, but they cannot prevent my sincere feelings; times may pass out of youth, but friends, however far, will be intimate and close. Spring Festival comes, to send you all my best wishes!

032: Money is owed for feelings, love’s phone is shut off, destiny is not in the service area; thought does not reply, missing’s phone line is also busy, love can no longer be recharged; love is like a mobile, win an unconnected heart, feelings can only be roaming. Best wishes for every day!

013: Lives are busy, days are sweet and sour, destiny is simple, links are intermittent, concern is continuous, best wishes last a long time, be happy every day! I wish your entire family a year full of health and safety!

008: Spring Festival is about to come, I use my best wishes to spin a thread, under the candle light, I wave it into a red jumper for you: the front part is safety, the back part is happiness, auspiciousness is a thick shoulder, realizing your wishes is put in the sleeve, the collar contains my consideration, the pockets are full of happiness, when you wear it on your body, let the warmth wrap around you, let my heart accompany you through the new year.

035: The ice is on the water, the clouds are on the wind, friends are etched on my heart! The mandarin ducks are on the lake, the butterflies are on the flowers, I wish your happiness outranks mine! Missing you is in my heart, fondness is on my face, I sincerely wish to write it in this text! I sincerely wish you: have a happy life!

039: Text messages may change into delicacies, characters may open up as roses, mutually sending texts is a sort of date, reading them carefully is to understand the flavor of loneliness, it isn’t that there is no wine to drink, but it is odd that alone, you can’t get drunk, in the human world, only friendship is the most precious! I wish you good fortune in the Year of the Pig!

7 February 2007, 23:03

Notice: Xinhua’s report concerning Beijing Municipality being in arrears of 1.6 billion in workers’ salaries may not be reprinted without exception, blogs, forums and other interactive segments may also not discuss this! All websites are requested to pay attention to implementation!!!

8 February 2007, 11:42

Concerning follow-up reporting of the illegal fundraising case in Yiling Forestry, only use Xinhua, People’s Daily, Beijing Daily, Beijing Evening Post, Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Television and Beijing People’s Radio copy, copy from other sources may without exception not be used, do not set up special subjects, do not send text messages, do not make corresponding links, do not issue it on the main page of websites or in the important news section of news centers, forums, trackers, and other interactive segments are not to discuss this.

9 February 2007, 16:14

All websites: please link to the following article on a clear position of the main page of forums and blogs: “Lei Feng: A Model of Realizing Self-Worth,” http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/49645905010007u2. Maintain this link for a week.

9 February 2007, 18:18:37

All websites pleas add “China Mobile Telecommunications Group Beijing Co. Ltd.” to the list of supporting work units for this event, please add it in front of Suning Electronics, and add the logo of the said enterprise. Please acknowledge receipt!

9 February 2007, 19:00:57

Listed text messages of 9 February

Number – text message content

051: Your humble servant brings little handsome superpig, the last of the 12 birth animals to come glittering onto the stage, to wish you a happy New Year! Good fortune with the golden pig!

021: The golden pig brings happiness and auspiciousness, the Olympic mascots come to help: Beibei brings you a warehouse full of grain, Jinjing brings you a family to fill the hall, Huanhuan brings you things as you wish them, Yingying brings you health, Nini brings you happiness and long life. A happy New Spring, and limitless good luck!

029: My head is shaking, everywhere on the road; my ears are waving, the sunlight is very bright, my buttocks are clamping, happiness is everywhere, my tail is wagging, I’m happy and laughing; the golden pig is oinking, its step clatters on; the fireworks are dazzling, the bell sound clangs. A happy New Year’s Eve!

005: Peace is happiness, gentleness brings happiness, tranquility is having happiness, plain sailing collects happiness, simplicity shows happiness, even steps raise happiness, the ordinary displays happiness, balance is full of happiness, the calm protects happiness, be happy all your life, I wish you happiness every day!

052: The winter is finishing and the Spring is warm, the Dinghai year comes with candles, wine and youth. At tonight’s banquet, I plan to hand over the cup of wine, to share joy, and feeling will be even stronger, your heart will keep out the cold. My distant wish, that I read earnestly for you, is to have a hundredfold harmony in the home, happiness to come, health and peace.

042: I’d like to say best wishes, but I’m afraid you’ll mishear “do the dishes”; I’d like to say happy new year, but I’m afraid you’ll mishear “Hey pig new year”; so I simply say “I wish you a swine”, which you can then hear as “I wish you are fine”. Happy new year!

053: Daddy is my wall who shelters the wind, mummy is my umbrella to block the rain; however long the road home is, however long the path home is; on New Year’s Eve will will certainly gather all of us! I wish my dear daddy and mummy health and all things as they want them!

054: Drinking wine harms the stomach, giving gifts is wrong, telephone is too expensive, only text message well wishes are substantial and precious.

027: Health is the best present, contentment is the greatest wealth, trust is the best virtue, concern is the most sincere wish, empathy is the most selfless thought, wishing happiness is the finest word. Have a happy new year! Be safe, sound and happy!

055: One army song, my feelings are remote; one army troop, the heaven is long and the earth unchanging; one group of comrades in arms, know each others hearts and hold hands; one military salute, feelings fill my heart and mind; one text message, to send regards: I wish my comrades in arms best New Year’s wishes! Good fortune and happiness for the whole household!

001: Mountain ranges can separate, the heaven is high and the land stretches far, but my deep longing cannot be blocked; longitude and latitude can draw out distance, but they cannot prevent my sincere feelings; times may pass out of youth, but friends, however far, will be intimate and close. Spring Festival comes, to send you all my best wishes!

056: A text message has come, those who receive it ride the crest of success, those who read it will be successful in their jobs, those who save it will find sweet love, those who send it on will meet with good luck and great prosperity, those who delete it will still be lucky, I wish you the best every day!

028: Spring festival comes, New Year wishes come early: first, I wish you whole house well; second, I wish for few difficulties; third, I wish that worries disappear; fourth, I with you do not grow old; fifth, I wish your children obey; sixth, I wish happiness surrounds you; seventh, I wish your sadness goes away; eighth, I wish your income rises; ninth, I wish you are safe and sound, tenth, I wish you are happy and at ease.

057: How long can a cloud float? How long can the snow fall? How long can a flower flourish? How long can a laugh last? If you’d ask me how long I wish you well, I’d say: “As long as my heart beats, I’ll wish you well!”

007: A meeting is a melodious song, acquaintance is a glass of fragrant wine, getting along is a wild goose flying south, being great friends is a vine with ancient roots, when I’m calm, I’ll always calmly wish that happiness and joy follow you in a honey-sweet life. Happy feelings in the New Year!

058: On New Year’s Eve, there are incessant cheers; the phone would interrupt this, and many calls are inconvenient; text message New year wishes are my desire; I wish your whole family health; happiness in life, and much gain in the year to come; I wish you a happy New Year in advance, so as not to block the line!

008: Spring Festival is about to come, I use my best wishes to spin a thread, under the candle light, I wave it into a red jumper for you: the front part is safety, the back part is happiness, auspiciousness is a thick shoulder, realizing your wishes is put in the sleeve, the collar contains my consideration, the pockets are full of happiness, when you wear it on your body, let the warmth wrap around you, let my heart accompany you through the new year.

059: A human life is like a book, a baby’s first cry is the foreword, the worriless days of youth the prose, the frivolity of youth the poems, the tiresome working of middle age the literature, and the calmness of old age the summary. The New Spring will come, the golden pig will open up a beautiful foreword, and write a new magnificent work!

002: I gather the sunlight of Mount Everest, the cool breezes separated worlds apart, the wishes of the Trans Himalaya, and the luck in making money of Bill Gates, and make it into a present for you, deepest wishes of happiness for the Spring Festival, may your wishes become true, and everything as you want it!

060: Are you thinking of me? I am well thinking of you! Talking about class, you are the old man; talking about work, you are the white collar; talking about ability, you are the backbone; talking about talent, you are the quintessence. Therefore, we sincerely praise you to be! Old, white, bones and drunk! Heehee… Happy New Year!

9 February 2007, 19:46:52

Concerning the matter of local political elections and parliamentary in the region of Abkhazia, Georgia, only use Central focus news website copy, objectivity and neutrality must be maintained in reporting, avoid the appearance of tendentious reports.

9 February 2007, 20:32:11

Supplementary instruction concerning the local political elections and parliamentary in the region of Abkhazia, Georgia (this instruction applies):

All websites: Concerning the matter that the region of Abkhazia, Georgia will organize local political elections on 11 February and will organize parliamentary elections on 3 April, only transmit Xinhua copy, maintain objectivity and neutrality in reporting, avoid the expression of tendencies.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault/feed/0Censorship Vault: Beijing Internet Instructions Series (10)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-10/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-10/#commentsSat, 17 Nov 2012 22:43:41 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=146805In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the “Beijing Internet Instructions” series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State Council Internet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source.

Concerning reports on the reform of the Beijing Qianmen area, please do not reprint matters, where they are already reprinted, please immediately delete them. Forums are also not to discuss this matter.

Reports on the university student Wu Yujie being imprisoned for engaging in ticket scalping activities, are not to be discussed. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

News Notice (Chen Hua): Yesterday, after minister of foreign affairs Li Zhaoxing organized a press conference, Japan put forward an impertinent protest against us, websites are requested to strengthen management, do not disseminate information or comments about this matter, forums, trackers, blogs, etc., are not permitted to carry discussions of this kind.

9 March 2006

Everyone:

Please delete reports on the matter of serial murder of children in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang as soon as possible;

The text “The Chinese Communist Party Must Know How to Control the New Bourgeoisie” must not be permitted to appear on websites;

If there are online articles smearing the Lei Feng Spirit, especially the text “The Truth about One Corrupt Element: Lei Feng,” they must be firmly deleted;

If there are blogs set up by the earlier China Public Opinion Supervision Net leading person Li Xinde on your website, please delete them;

For reprinting the case of the only daughter of a Tsinghua University professor being throttled to death by a public transport ticket seller, please wait for our notification, do not reprint anything before then.

6 March 2006

Network Supervision notice: Focus supervision and control points from 4 March until 10 March:

(1) Online information trends concerning the national “Two Sessions”;

(2) Clues on activities of a number of retired military personnel, bank personnel “bought out of seniority,” households moved away because of confiscation, house owners and other groups planning, organizing and linking up for petitioning and “rights defense” activities, etc.;

(3) Domestic and foreign hostile forces playing up the “relay fasting activity” started by Gao Zhisheng and other situations.

(4) Pay attention to finding and dealing with the “Online Publication of an ‘Open Letter’ Incident” of People’s Policeman Wu Youming from Huangshi, Hebei and corresponding information;

(5) Pay attention to finding and dealing with information related to “the incident of Hui–Han clashes in Xinzheng, Henan,” as well as “Terrorist Suitcase Bomb Construction Plan.”

Explanation: the first item is a focus target for attention, delete negative reports on and attacking content concerning the Two Sessions! Items 2-5 are to be immediately deleted when found.

6 March 2006

Please delete the articles on Premier Wen opening a blog according to requirements.

6 March 2006

News notice:

(1) The matter of “serial killing of children happening in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang,” please do not put it on the main page of websites or the main news page. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

(2) Please remove surveys stating that 67% of citizens believe that the current amount of civil servants should be reduced from front pages and main news center pages of websites. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

Attention: if it is not on the front page, it may be reported.

6 March 2006

Network Supervision Office notification: Articles on Wang Xiaoya having a dubious relationship with some high Ministry of Public Security official, Minister Zhou or Minister Zhou Yongkang may not be issued without exception, existing ones are to be all deleted.

4 March 2006

Information Office notice: Everyone, the Political Consultative Committee member Wu Bowei stating that receiving read envelopes may make doctor-patient relations more harmonious, no website may report this without exception, existing matters must be deleted as soon as possible, it may also not be discussed in forums.

Recently, a piece of news has circulated on the Internet, entitled “Beijing Railway Station Traffic Police Inspect Driver Violating Regulations Are Blocked – And Kneel Before 70 Year Old Lady In Street.” The said new has had great repercussions in society. Some netizens have seized the opportunity to slander Beijing police, vainly attempting to play up this matter, and creating an opposing situation between the masses and the police.

On the instruction of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau director, your company is requested to strengthen supervision strength, and news or comments related to “Beijing Railway Station Traffic Police Inspect Driver Violating Regulations Are Blocked – And Kneel Before 70 Year Old Lady In Street” are to be deleted without exception.

2 March 2006

Information Office notice (Chen Hua): In the case of four students jumping off buildings in the Huanan Agricultural University in Guangdong, websites are no longer to reprint reports and copy on this, existing copy is to be transferred to the back stage, forums and trackers are no longer to track this sort of posts

2 March 2006

Concerning the dispute of Qiu Chengtong with professor Tian Gang, no online reporting is to occur without exception.

(1) Forums and other interactive columns must be strictly grasped according to relevant principles and policies of the Center on Taiwan, ideologies and actions are to be unified around the spirit of the Center, it is necessary to let the broad masses believe the Center has the determination, the capacity and the ways to smash “Taiwanese independence” forces’ plotting to split the motherland, and move the grand cause of reunification of the motherland forward.

(2) Online discussion must fully reflect that the realization of peaceful unification of the two shores, and stimulate the grand rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, is the common wish of the sons and daughters of China inside and outside the country, including Taiwan compatriots. The malicious nature of “Taiwanese independence” causing quarrels in the peace in the Taiwan Straits and causing stress in the relationships between the two shores must be deeply exposed, and it must be put forward that the line of Chen Shui-bian in insisting on “Taiwanese Independence” completely instigates opposition and conflict within Taiwan and between the two shores, and can only bring disaster to Taiwanese society.

(3) Interpretation of the important statements of our Party and State leaders must be strengthened, fully and deeply propagate the principles and policies of the Chinese side well.

(4) Declarations of foreign governments and overseas personalities that are beneficial to us must be timely transmitted.

(5) Discussions of netizens on “military unification,” “sending soldiers,” etc., must be earnestly grasped, they are not to be excessively concentrated, this sort of posts may not be more than two on the main page of forums and trackers.

(6) Articles or posts seizing the opportunity to attack or censure the Party and government, or attack the Central principles, policies and uniform deployment concerning Taiwan must be firmly blocked or deleted. Discussions seizing the opportunity to incite uproar or destroy social stability may not be encouraged to be signed or passed on online, illegal activities may not be encouraged.

(7) Strictly implement requirements on the scope of reprinting, do not gather news yourself, corresponding VIP interviews must be approved.

2 March 2006

Please inspect whether or not the content “Complete Notes and Pictures on the Appalling News of Cannibalism in Guangdong” is present on your website, if it is, please delete it. Furthermore, please notify the full-time public opinion officers to receive a message in his own mailbox, if they do not understand, let them contact us. Thank you.

Murders in Yunnan: According to reports, the case of missing 18-year-old Zhang Yongming of Jinning, Yunnan is related to a serial killer.

Jinning (晋宁)

cannibal (食人魔)

homicidal mania (杀人狂)

eat people (吃人)

Zhang Yongming (张永明)

Yunnan + missing (云南+失踪)

dismember + corpse (肢解+尸体)

Yunnan + kill, including terms with the character “kill” (杀), such as homicide, murderer, murder, etc. (云南+杀, 如杀人、杀手、凶杀等)

Generally blocked: These terms are not related to particular events.

unjust case (冤案)

obscene (猥亵)

Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search.

CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

Central Propaganda Department: Do not hype up the following: the Chen Guangcheng incident, negative information on the drought in Yunnan, the purchase of Maotai with public funds, tobacco legislation, the hubbub about Lei Feng on Weibo, media legislation, and the case of missing people in Kekexili. Do not mock the Two Sessions or make them into entertainment news. Ensure that you republish the Xinhua News Agency dispatch on the human rights record of the U.S. (March 6, 2012)

Best known for helping little old ladies cross the street and offering to darn his fellow soldiers’ socks, the life of onetime People’s Liberation Army soldier Lei Feng is one of the Communist Party’s oldest set pieces. With the 1963 publication of his diary (in which enthusiastic paeans to Mao and the Communist Party feature prominently), he became a posthumous propaganda sensation, with the Party urging citizens to “learn from Comrade Lei Feng.” Now, as China confronts the excesses of its economic system — including growing concern over public corruption and fears about diminished public morality — the government is working harder than ever to make Lei Feng in vogue.

Efforts to resurrect Lei Feng’s ghost are everywhere: Last week, the education ministry released a bulletin urging schools to host activities promoting the soldier. That inspired one group of 1,000 college students to dress up in vintage military garb and stand outside Shanghai metro stations and extol his virtues. Some preached the importance of good manners inside the metro cars; others offered hugs to strangers. Thousands of students Monday across the country likewise participated in “Lei Feng is in my heart” campaigns, drawing pictures, penning essays and singing songs.

A state-run Xinhua news agency article published last week declared that contemporary China is like a symphony – a single “harmonious society” – and that Lei Feng is akin to its “first violin.”

These questions, raised by french Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), are widely considered to represent the human race’s deepest meditations on the meaning of life.

According to the article, elite members of the human race, including Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), the ancient Chinese poets Qu Yuan and Chen Zi’ang, who both wrote more than 1,000 years ago, asked similar questions, but never found the answer.

“Lei Feng, an ordinary soldier, has given a perfect answer,” the lengthy article maintained.

One posting on Sina Weibo, the country’s popular microblog service, seemed to sum up the sentiment that it is party officials, not ordinary citizens, who should be studying Lei Feng’s selflessness. “Your children have migrated overseas but you ask me to learn from Lei Feng in China,” said the posting by the sharp-tongued blogger who goes by the name Notebook and has two million followers. “I have cancer because of the poisonous milk I drank but you ask me to learn from Lei Feng.” The post was deleted by censors on Friday.

Even Ren Zhiqiang, one of China’s wealthiest property developers, could not help himself. Apparently invoking a line from Lei Feng’s official diary that schoolchildren once memorized, “My only ambition is to be a rustless screw for the great cause of revolution,” Mr. Ren called the legend a naked propaganda tool “for turning all citizens into screws that can be willfully placed anywhere.”

“That way, there is no need for democracy, human rights or freedom,” he wrote.

Dai Qing, a muckraking journalist and lapsed Communist Party member, said that many Chinese were offended by the patronizing message of moral righteousness. “Would I help a senior citizen or a child in need?” she said in an interview. “Of course I would, but not because I was told to do so by a government movement. Empathy is a minimal requirement of human decency, not one that should be directed by a political party.”

The editor of the state-run Global Times applauded the satirical spoofs that have appeared online, writes Danwei, which has a long tradition of reporting on Lei Feng and translated the following comment posted by Hu Xijin to his Weibo account along with the spoof photo above:

The louder the volume of the government campaign to study Lei Feng, the more such spoofs will be enthusiastically circulated online. This is the sigh-inducing balance of contemporary China’s public debate. When I see such Photoshop images, my heart just feels uncomfortable. But I know that the fact that such photographs appear is a sign of China’s progress. Making everything appear ugly is not just a way of thinking but has become a way of existing. Its importance to China is like that of the waste water pipes and sewers that even a city of light cannot do without.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/03/lei-feng-hero-for-todays-china/feed/1Ran Yunfei: “I’m Just My Own Running Dog.”http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/03/ran-yunfei-im-just-my-own-running-dog/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/03/ran-yunfei-im-just-my-own-running-dog/#commentsSat, 03 Mar 2012 01:43:01 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=132524In an interview with The New York Review of Books, blogger and classicist Ran Yunfei discusses a broad range of issues: the unruliness of his native Sichuan, his detention last year, self-immolation, religion, education, the Party’s manipulation of history from Lei Feng to the Nanjing Massacre and how Ai Weiwei goes too far.

I saw a statistic somewhere that apart from Beijing, Sichuan has more political dissidents than any region in China. Sichuan doesn’t have the largest population of a Chinese province and it’s not the poorest; nor is it, like Guangdong, near Hong Kong and the freer media there. So why is there so much going on here?

It’s a lot of things. There is this teahouse culture here—you have these places where you can meet publicly. Not a lot of Chinese cities have these. Everywhere there are tea houses and people meet and talk. There are signs not to talk about national affairs but everyone does.

And then there’s the paoge culture (the mafia-type associations that used to regulate daily life rather than official laws and rules). People are accustomed to thinking independently of the government. Also, we’re just far away from Beijing, separated by rivers and mountains. Even the guobao [State Security police] are different. They sometimes say, “I’m just doing this to have my rice to eat.”

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/03/ran-yunfei-im-just-my-own-running-dog/feed/3Hexie Farm (蟹农场): Remembering Lei Feng (Updated)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/02/hexie-farm-%e8%9f%b9%e5%86%9c%e5%9c%ba-remembering-lei-feng/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/02/hexie-farm-%e8%9f%b9%e5%86%9c%e5%9c%ba-remembering-lei-feng/#commentsMon, 27 Feb 2012 20:48:21 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=132221Below is the latest entry in the series of political cartoons produced by Crazy Crab of Hexie Farm for CDT. The cartoon, which is untitled, is partly inspired by news that the government will release the Complete Works of Lei Feng, the revolutionary soldier held up as a model of altruism and selflessness. August will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Lei Feng, and authorities in China continue to use his image and story in education and propaganda campaigns.

Update: Lei Feng once said: “I’ll be a bolt in whatever part of the machinery of state the Party wants to screw me.” (Thanks to reader Roy Forward for the translation, which was published in In the Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture by Geremie R. Barmé.)

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/02/hexie-farm-%e8%9f%b9%e5%86%9c%e5%9c%ba-remembering-lei-feng/feed/2Revolutionary Change for China’s Heroeshttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/02/revolutionary-change-for-chinas-heroes/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/02/revolutionary-change-for-chinas-heroes/#commentsMon, 25 Feb 2008 16:53:32 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/02/revolutionary-change-for-chinas-heroes/According to The Times, Lei Feng and his fellow national heroes are set to officially become less revolutionary “martyrs”:

About 340,000 families across the country currently take pride in a relative who has been awarded the title of “Revolutionary Martyr”. That custom is set to change with the intent of better reflecting the new face of China.

A draft of the new rules, with the word “Revolutionary” removed, has been published for public comment for a week – a move that signals that the change is a foregone conclusion.

Under the new system those put forward for the title of “Martyr” will no longer have to be socialists, and anyone who has died as a publicly accepted hero could qualify for martyrdom. Currently a martyr is someone “killed by his enemy when carrying out revolutionary tasks”.

A patriotic Internet game featuring heroic Chinese and designed to wean the young off their addiction to violent foreign games is still not ready for release a year after development begun, state media said on Tuesday. Unlike the more popular games, where players have to slay dragons, fight aliens or beat up bad guys, in “Chinese Heroes” players “click on statues to learn about their experiences and carry out tasks like moving bricks,” Xinhua news agency said.

But the official news agency expressed doubt the new game would even appeal to China’s youth of today. [Full Text]

Also read, with a grain of salt, Shanghai Daily’s Lei Feng becomes online game hero, in which players strive to obtain the Chairman’s autograph by “doing good deeds.” And Shenda’s press release about the patriotic game (Chinese, by sina.com)

Lei Feng is no longer a hero only in real life. He is also the hero of an online video game. To do good deeds, as many as you can, is the trick for passing each level in the online game starring Lei Feng, the Nanfang City Daily said.

The game, so-called “Learn from Lei Feng,” has become very popular among many Guangzhou students as of recent. Hard work, a plain life and willingness to help others are the game’s themes, which is very different from most other online games.

“For beginners, sewing and mending socks is the only way to increase experience and to upgrade,” said Jiao Jian, a six-grade pupil in Yuexiu District, quoted by the newspaper…He added that many of his classmates also loved playing the game, because it is different from the online games they normally played. While playing they learn many things about Lei Feng firsthand.

The news also appeared in a somewhat less credulous Reuters Oddly Enough piece, and prompted the following rant on Sploid:

…players advance, by helping on construction sites, talking to party leaders … all sorts of mundane crap. The ultimate goal is a copy of the Chairman’s collected works.

Since his death March 5, has been known as “Learn from Lei Feng Day,” when people all chip in to do good in the community, just like the legend himself.

The last time the Party trotted him out was after the Tiananmen Square uprising. You can imagine what a morale boost that was.